When I was seventeen, I disappeared. I walked out the door of my apartment with a backpack and never looked back. I left the life of Cora Mitchell behind, seeking freedom from my real-life nightmare.

But my freedom came with a cost. I lived a fictitious life for the next six years, never letting anyone close enough to see underneath the façade that was Andra Walker.

I was content with my simple little life.

Until I met Julian.

And the moment I started allowing myself to open up, allowing someone to see through the superficial, was the very same moment the Monster from my past would return to find me.

Giselle’s Review:

So you know right before you start a new book and, based on the cover and summary, you might expect the book to be a certain way or make you feel certain emotions. Well this book completely took me by surprise with the way it made me feel! In other words, I didn’t expect this book to be so unique and enjoy it so, so much!

On top of being a romance, He Found Me is emotional, INTENSE, mysterious, SUSPENSEFUL, and I am not exaggerating when I say that this book will have you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what will happen next.

One of my absolute favorite things about this novel, besides the writing itself, was the characters. I LOVED Andra. I loved that even though Andra went through what she went through she still came out strong as hell in the end. Yes, she was closed off and had a darker view on life then most people, but in her case it’s definitely justified and despite everything she went through her personality wasn’t a weak one like some might expect it to be. What I also loved about Andra was that she knew who she was. She wasn’t insecure or unsure of who she was one bit. She knew her strengths, weaknesses, and faults.

“Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t think I was a terrible person. I was a good friend, a good worker. But I couldn’t give anyone more than what they saw on the surface. Lies were more frequent than truth. I would lie for the rest of my life.”

I really enjoyed and connected with Andra’s take charge personality and how that affected her relationship with Julian too. Andra knew what she wanted and didn’t hold back in making what she wanted clear, which is one of the things I loved about her.

“One thing I didn’t like was playing games. If I was attracted to someone, I didn’t make them guess what my feelings were.”

Amen! Thank you Whitney Barbetti for creating such a strong female character that doesn’t play games, because nothing turns me off more from a female character than that!

Julian. Julian, Julian, Julian. If you’re looking for a mysterious, dark, and sexy writer/musician to fall in love with, Julian is the guy for you! I liked Julian right from the start even though he gave off an extremely arrogant vibe, but that is when I knew the chemistry between Andra and Julian would be AMAZING. I mean, when the main characters in a book first meet with this level of sass, you’ve already got my full attention.

“Would you prefer I show up in obviously brand-new cowboy boots, jeans fresh from the store, and a goofy hat that wasn’t even broken in yet?”

Another thing that completely captured my attention was the beautiful, beautiful writing. Whitney Barbetti, your writing completely enthralled me and showed so much of the beauty, and even darkness, within these characters, but that’s okay, because I’m a full believer in the fact that we all have darkness in us, because without darkness there can be no light.

He Found Me was profound and had me highlighting so many quotable lines. Whitney Barbetti’s writing and the dialogue she created in this novel had me saying “WOW” about 50+ times.

“Love and hate, those are my favorite words. They stand on their own. They don’t need to be defined.

“You just need to see the beauty in the ugliness. Or vice versa.”

The beautiful writing in this novel also created for a beautiful relationship between Julian and Andra. One that I will not forget… especially cause I NEED book two!!

“He didn’t look at me simply to look at me; it was as if he saw the holes inside and wanted to reach his hands in and open them up, to get a better look. But all he’d see was darkness.”

Despite the darkness in this novel, the relationship between Julian and Andra still managed to have a light feel which created for a perfect balance of light and dark in this book.

He Found Me is a UNIQUE must read that will have you on the edge and leave you wanting more. I can not wait to get my hands on the second book in this series because I NEED to know what happens next! <3